Kuoni/INTRAV Deal Finalized

Swiss-based Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd. finalized its $115-million acquisition of INTRAV, the U.S. luxury tour operator, and its subsidiary, Clipper Cruise Line, which are based in St. Louis. Effective immediately, Ian Coghlan will become CEO of both companies, replacing Paul H. Duynhouwer, who has acquired a majority stake in Clipper's two U.S.-flag ships, Nantucket Clipper and Yorktown Clipper. In addition, Duynhouwer will be the majority owner and CEO of New World Ship Management, LLC, formed to operate all four Clipper ships, including the two U.S.-flag ships, as well as Bahamian-registered Clipper Adventurer and Clipper Odyssey. Coghlan was educated in the U.K. and joined Kuoni in 1985 in the finance department. He soon moved to the tour-operations side of the business with responsibility for costings and yield control. Coghlan became deputy managing director of Kuoni U.K. in 1998, and took overall responsibility for finance, information technology, personnel and administration functions for the U.K. subsidiary, which is headed by Managing Director Peter Diethelm. The INTRAV acquisition marks Kuoni's first major entry in the U.S. market under the newly formed Strategic Business Unit (SBU) for the U.K. and North America. Peter Diethelm, member of Kuoni's group executive board and head of the SBU, remains executive chairman of Kuoni U.K., chairman of the two Kuoni Caribbean hotels, and president of INTRAV. INTRAV's founder and former chairman, Barney A. Ebsworth, 65, has retired.